About John Altavilla

John Altavilla

John Altavilla was reincarnated as UConn women's basketball beat writer by The Courant before the 2007-08 season. He originally spent three seasons on the beat in the late 1990s, presiding over nothing more consequential than one trip to the Elite Elite and season-ending injuries to Nykesha Sales, Shea Ralph and Sue Bird.

Altavilla came to The Courant in August 1996 after 16 years at the New Haven Register. During his time in Hartford, he has written about many subjects, including nine Super Bowls during his decade as the New York Giants beat writer.

Altavilla is a lifelong state resident, a graduate of Trumbull High and the University of Bridgeport, where he majored in broadcast journalism under the mistaken impression he'd spend his life doing play-by-play of New York Mets baseball. He and his wife, Marilyn, have two children, a college-aged daughter and a son who is in fifth grade.

His hobbies include ingesting useless calories and convincing his friends that Ray Barone of "Everybody Loves Raymond" fame is the only sports writer in America who does not work nights.